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Saturday, December 11, 2010

Who am I? Jean Sylvain Bailly

Here is a little information about me:
I am a great French orator and astronomer who was born on September 15th, 1736 in Paris. Initially I was in love with paintings and writing tragedies; however, under the influence of Nicolas de Lacaille I was attracted into the world of science. From that point on, science became my soul. I examined several scientific observations and revisions including calculating the orbit of Halley's comet. Thus, I was then elected as a member of the French Academy, the Academy of Sciences and, the Academy of Inscriptions. After, I became even more passionate towards the study of science and my accomplishment was followed by two more theories, Essai sur la theorie des satellites de Jupite and  Sur les inegalites de la lumiere des satellites de Jupiter. Through my accomplishments I have gained ample reputation, thus I published excessively after. However, my studies were halted by the FRENCH REVOLUTION.

The French Revolution was indeed chaotic. Foreign problems, excessive use of money by luxurious Louis XVI, and other immediate causes such as the financial crises all kindled the French Revolution that was now well in progress. My career of science however began to fade away as I was appointed to deal with the hazardous situations of the French Revolution. I was elected as a deputy from Paris to the Estates-General and the President of the Third-Estates. My subjects were awfully discontent about the situations and circumstance of the country where they are dwelling in. People were in extreme poverty crying for the need of bread and grain, which were their daily staple. The price of bread, on the contrary, was rising and has exceeded their budget that they could barely afford the bread. Without the bread, people were enduring harsh famine. This, I could not bear to perceive.

My subjects, or the Third Estate of the unbearable French society, were very eager to vote themselves a National Assembly and hastily decided to draw up a constitution hopefully would benefit them. On June 20, which was the day of our meeting, when my companions and I arrived at the meeting place, we found that the door was intentionally locked so we moved to a nearby tennis court and swore an oath. This ensured that a constitution will be written before we would stop meeting. Although my subjects were criticized to not have the legal right to act as the National Assembly, I'd rather care less. However, the First Estate along with the king threatened to dissolve Estates-General. This made me very unsettle.

The storming of Bastille was indeed violent and full of bloodshed. People were killed and the city was in a state of despair. However after this incidence I became the first mayor under the new Paris Commune. The Paris Commune was in favor of radical changes to the revolution, the king to be killed, and the counter-revolutionaries to be suppressed. After, under my commission, the National Guard dispersed the assembly of Champ de Mars. This brought resentment upon myself as people began to repute against my being. I finally decided to reside in Nantes and began writing in solitude. I then once again felt the serene and tranquil part of my life as I wrote several more works. In 1789, I left Nantes and decided to visit my loyal friend Pierre Simon Laplace at Melun. Unfortunately, not for long when I was recognized and arrested......





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